Southern California -- this just in

Marijuana seized in banana shipment at San Diego border crossing

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in San Diego found more than $1 million worth of marijuana hidden in a shipment of bananas at the Mexico border, officials said Wednesday.

A drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to the shipment Monday when a 40-year-old Mexican truck driver applied to cross into the United States at the Otay Mesa cargo facility, the agency said in a statement.

When officers opened the boxes in the truck, they found 235 packages of marijuana weighing nearly a ton hidden among bunches of bananas, the statement said. Officers seized the marijuana, which is worth an estimated $1.17 million.

The driver was arrested by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Last week, 315 packages of marijuana weighing 3,877 pounds were found hidden in a shipment of peppers and beans at the cargo facility.

-- Alexandra Zavis

Photo: Part of the shipment of bananas in which marijuana was found. Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection